


Geisterburg: 'Desired'

by strawberryTala



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Ghosts, Fluff, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Spirits, Yugo has no survival instincts, Yuto is always on fire, Yuto thinks too much about life and death, mention of past death, mild horror elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:59:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27314437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strawberryTala/pseuds/strawberryTala
Summary: Yuto has spent years and years watching over the old and enourmous Geisterburg estate as a phantom, keeping ghosts in check and spirits from wrecking havoc. He'd expected to continue this way of living for eternity or until he faded away.At least, until one day, a human wandered over the borders, and decided to keep coming back.-“Might I ask, just so we’re clear,” Yuto sighs, exasperation clear on his face, thumb and forefinger massaging the corner of his eyes. He looked up at the person, the human, currently hanging upside down in the Bleeding Willow with flat eyes, the grey flashing against the inky blackness of his sclera. “How on earth you managed this stunt?”
Relationships: Yugo/Yuto (Yu-Gi-Oh)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 20





	Geisterburg: 'Desired'

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Halloween!!
> 
> It's still the 31st here so I am not late!!!
> 
> It's my first time writing Collisionshipping, but this one au is very dear to me and I wanted to write a part of it for the holiday. This is meant to be a series of stories, but when another part will go up, I have no clue. Hope you'll enjoy it!
> 
> Note: The title is german for 'Ghost Castle'

* * *

Yuto liked solitude.

He liked the quiet air, only disturbed by the trees rustled by the breeze and the sound of his steps, echoing in wide stone halls or crunching leaves and grass. The soft clinking of the chains hanging off his belt and the snap of the fabric of his cloak being tugged at by the wind.

Because quiet meant it was peaceful. Peaceful meant there were no vengeful spirits causing a commotion, no phantoms wrecking havoc trying to cross the border. Peace meant there was no reason to fight, quiet meant he could wander with no disturbance.

That’s how it has been, for so long as Yuto as been here, and how it will continue to be, perhaps for eternity, or until he finally vanishes to the ether like he has seen so many spirits do.

At least, that’s how it was supposed to be.

“Might I ask, just so we’re clear,” Yuto sighs, exasperation clear on his face, thumb and forefinger massaging the corner of his eyes. He looked up at the person, the _human,_ currently hanging upside down in the Bleeding Willow with flat eyes, the grey flashing against the inky blackness of his sclera. “How on earth you managed this stunt?”

That’s how it was supposed to be, until the boy currently held captured by the willow tree stumbled over the border and entered this place, and since then has insisted on coming back.

“Okay, I know it looks bad, but I swear this isn’t my fault!” Yugo protests loudly. Somehow, Yuto sincerely doubted it, but didn’t interrupt. “So I was looking for you, right, when I thought I saw something move among the graves-which, wow there are so many graves here, Yuto why are there so many of them?-so I followed-”

“Why would you _follow_ a shadowy creature you _think_ you saw? And haven’t I told you not to wander around when I’m not with you?”

“Bluh blah, whatever,” Yugo snorts at him. “Anyway, I followed it all the way here to this lake and weird-looking tree. The weird shininess and whole redness kinda creeped me out so I edge closer to the lake, but then something _grabbed_ me and, well-” He tries to do what Yuto can guess was supposed to be a shrug but only amounted to a pitiful wiggle, a few thin leaves fluttering to the ground. “Here I am.”

Yuto sighs, even though he has no air inside him to disperse. Yugo was… Yuto honestly didn’t know what to make of him. The one thing he did know, however, even in the relatively short time they’d known each other, is that the boy was, in the nicest of terms, a magnet for trouble. As such, things had been drastically less quiet since his arrival. The fire in his hair flicker. “There has yet to be a day where I don’t wonder how the hell you are still breathing.”

“Hey! That’s rude!” The words are accompanied by yet another petulant wiggle.

“Yugo.” The boy stops at the tone in the phantom’s voice. “This lake is haunted, _severely so_. If you gaze upon your reflection when the water is this still, you could get pulled to the other side, and allowing something else to come out here in your place.”

“...Ah.” Yugo glances around at the tree as best he can, in his current position. “So… why am I up here?”

“It’s a ridiculous idea, but… I think the tree saved you.”

“What?”

“With how restless they seem to be, I doubt you’d have to look into the water for long. The tree pulling you up makes it _look_ like it meant to help you…”

Blue eyes blink slowly down at him. “Is that weird?”

“That tree held a benevolent spirit once upon a time, but soaking up the negativity and blood of humans has made it a bit… let’s say twisted.” The bark hadn’t always been crimson, after all. “So yes, that it made the conscious decision to spare one is weird.”

“Oh.” Yugo turns his attention to the thin, leafy branches still holding him upside down in the air. “Well, thank you! You saved me.” A rustle that had nothing to do with the wind swept through the hanging branches and Yuto wondered when, exactly, he’d stop being surprised by Yugo and the weird ways he seemed to sway the spirits in this place. “But uh, can you put me down? I’m starting to get dizzy.”

Another sound, that could be interpreted as the rustle of a tree or a raspy whisper. Yugo looks around rapidly with wide eyes and Yuto steps closer, arms stretched out. Creaking, the branches let up their hold on the human boy, lowering him carefully into the phantom’s waiting arms. They withdraw, letting his full weight fall into Yuto’s hold, who easily adjusts his grip so one arm is wrapped around Yugo’s shoulder and the other hooked under his legs. He steps back some paces away from the lake before gently letting him down to his feet

“Thanks,” Yugo mumbles, brushing himself free of leaves and branches that stuck to his clothes and hair. His face has turned a bit red, probably from being held upside down for who knows how long before Yuto got here.

Yuto glance to the lake. The water is dark, it’s still surface reflecting the objects above it. If you knew what to look for, and could spot it, you could see them moving on the other side of the water. “Let’s head to the mansion, if you don’t wish to risk being snatched away by the mirror images of previous residents.”

Yugo shivers a little, nodding slowly as they walk away from the Bleeding Willow and down the path running next to the lake. The presences near the water writhe, wanting to reach out but knowing any attempt to do so would only net them crushed hands at best. Yuto drifts a little closer to his companion, resolving to not let him wander out of arm’s reach until they’re a good ways away from the lake.

“I don’t understand why you keep coming here when you are faced with this all the time.”

Yugo gives him a weird look. “What do you mean? You’re here. ‘Course I’d come back.”

The words almost make Yuto stumble. Almost. Yugo doesn’t notice, walking on with his hands in his sweater pockets like he had commented on the weather. “Besides, who else is gonna help break my curse?”

Yuto shakes himself before following, pushing the odd surge of emotions away to think about later. That part of his mind was growing ominously large. “There are several ghost hunters and spirit exterminators on the outside who could assist you. It doesn’t have to be me.”

“It’s called ‘taking responsibility!’ Humans learn it from an early age!” Yugo says, self-assurance in his voice and not accepting any protests. Yuto isn’t particularly surprised; they’ve had this conversation many times now, and it’s never progressed any further than the first time it came up. He lets the issue drop. For now at least.

Yugo had wandered all the way out into the planted woods this time, thankfully not the very dangerous, naturally grown one. The path they were on now leads back to the gardens, still flourishing in their own way thanks to its dutiful otherwordly caretakers.

“...Your body still feels alright? No changes?”

“Hmmm, not what I’ve noticed,” Yugo says, rolling his shoulders and cracking his neck. “I think I’ve started seeing stuff more? But I’ve always seen weird stuff so that’s nothing new. But we’ll know when it gets bad, won’t we?”

Yuto frowns. “Wouldn’t it be best to get rid of it _before_ you start to notice any changes?”

“Hehe, probably! But let’s take it as we go, it doesn’t seem like such a big deal, even though you freaked out so much in the beginning.”

Yuto sighs loudly, a small burst of azure flames and smoke emerging from between his lips. “Your nonchalance of the occult will get you more than just killed one day.”

“Maybe!” Yugo laughs. He turns to Yuto then, grinning. “But if it gets to that, you’ll save me, right?”

Yuto blinks, stuck somewhere between feeling completely baffled or… oddly touched by the confidence behind the words. Like there was no doubt in Yugo’s mind Yuto would help him if he was in trouble.

“But since you’re helping me out, I wanna do something for you too…” Yugo grumbles, crossing his arms and tilting his head in thought.

“That really isn’t necessary. And there is nothing that I particularly wish for.”

“Come on! I’d feel bad just taking and taking without giving anything back!” Yugo hops ahead to stand in front of Yuto, stopping them on a cobblestone path nestled inside a tunnel made of wisteria and golden chain plants. “There’s got to be _something_ you want!”

Despite his first instinct to brush him off, shoot down the question and talk about something else to guarantee it won’t be brought up again, Yuto finds himself considering the question.

_Something I want._

He has been asked that before, by humans who had made their way here and tried to bargain. It was a question he had never thought much off and drifted away from his thoughts before he could even consider it.

But faced with Yugo, asking that very same question earnestly and with an anticipatory shine in his eyes that seemed to glow without any supernatural means, his mind started churning away by itself.

Yuto couldn’t come up with anything he highly desired, in this not-quite-life of his. Sunlight shone here, which he enjoyed when he could and felt like it. He wasn’t condemned to a monotonous existence either, he had duties here to keep him occupied. He felt no hunger the way humans did, nor did he crave food or water. It wasn’t like he needed rest either, it was just pleasant to nap sometimes, and the mansion was full of soft furniture and padded alcoves he could use.

Looking up, Yugo is still standing in the same place as he thinks. He’s looking curiously at the balls of ghost fire that followed Yuto around, a different shade than the one burning endlessly in his hair.

He’s about to touch a ball of fire until Yuto grabs hold of his wrist and pulls it away. “Didn’t you learn the last four times what happens when you touch those?”

Yugo laughs sheepishly, running his free hand through his hair. “Yeah, well, they look so warm and friendly, it makes me want to touch them.”

Ignoring the odd comments regarding his fire, he objects. “How many times do you need to get burned before you realise they’re not for touching?”

“Ugh,” Yugo winces, probably remembering his previous, succeeded attempts. “I’m sorry.”

Yuto nods, satisfied, and lets go of Yugo’s hand. Maybe this time, the reprimand will actually stick and he won’t try to touch the flames again.

Yuto resolutely didn’t acknowledge that he’d had this exact chain of thought the last three times, and Yugo had appeared like he had understood not to touch them. Only to do it again next time he got the chance and burning his fingers once more. Yuto had figured if he just let him touch them he’ll learn eventually. But apparently not.

“The fire in your hair is okay to touch, so why aren’t these okay?” Yugo says to himself, pouting a little even as he’s rubbing his fingers, as if the phantom feeling of the past burns was rising up.

Yuto huffs but can’t quite keep a smile off his face. As they start to walk again through the tunnel of gold and purple, he finds his thoughts start to wander again.

Wants, desires. Of course he has them. But he wasn’t very willing to indulge in them. Not when they revolved around a person.

He wondered what kind of metaphor those crummy novels stacked in the library shelves would use to describe what he was feeling.

Humans liked to use those kinds of terms, did they not. The sound of their heart beating. Their pulse racing in their ears so loud it was all they could hear. Their breathing the only sound present in the presence of silence. Their heart hurting so much it was painful.

Yuto had no concept of those sensations. He only knew them from scouring the expansive library of the castle sat in the middle of his domain. When you spend a few decades with only creatures of the afterlife for company, books became nice substitutes.

“If there is one thing I’d want…” Yugo perks up at the whispered words, having given up on getting an answer to his earlier question. 

“Did you think of something??” he asks eagerly, bouncing in place.

They stop at the end of the tunnel, the gardens spreading out just beyond. Yuto raises a hand to hover over his chest, blue-tinted fingers resting against the folds of his cloak and dark tunic. Eyes slip closed, the constant glow in them showing through his eyelids.

“A heartbeat.”

Yugo raises a brow, tilting his head to the side in confusion. “A… heartbeat?”

Nodding, Yuto opens his eyes halfway again. “Despite what you may believe, I am not alive. I… don’t actually know what I am, if I was ever human once. Nor do I know what a heartbeat or pulse feels like. But it sounds… pleasant, to have proof that you’re here. To have some hint to what you’re feeling.”

Yugo’s brow furrow in thought. “...I don't really know much about that kind of complicated stuff, but…" Yuto looks up at the voice, and before he can think to stop him, Yugo’s laid a hand against his chest, right in the middle of his ribcage, where a heart may have been nestled once upon a time. Yuto isn’t sure, he can’t recall a time where there ever was a human pulse inside him, but his form is human enough that you could assume he was one, once upon a time. Or perhaps just a really good imitator.

Yet despite that uncertainty, Yugo smiles, the gesture blooming on his face like the sun shining on a murky, chilly day, and left you wondering how you ever felt cold when faced with its warmth. “I can feel your heartbeat just fine!”

And something flickered, not quite a pulse or a heartbeat, but it was there. The fire in his hair flared up and the inky darkness spread out as his eyes widened. The hand still resting on his chest was growing warm, fueling the flickering in his chest.

Lacking any other words and feeling what he guesses could be described as out of breath, he settles on. “...It’s not what humans would call a heartbeat.”

Yugo snorts. “Who cares about that? It’s yours, isn’t that all that matters?”

...Perhaps, it was.

Somehow, he felt a little lighter.

Softly, he grasps the hand on his chest in his own. “Thank you.”

Yugo grins, looking pleased with himself. Then his face screws up in thought. “But, you know, I can’t give you something you already have! Isn’t there something else?”

Yuto blinks, then sighs. “Are you still hung up on that?”

“Of course!”

Grumbling, Yuto thinks. He has a hard time thinking of anything else, except-

He shakes his head. No, that was just not an option. But the hand in his was warm, different from how fire was burning hot. Yuto didn’t even realise his natural temperature was slightly cool until Yugo appeared with his warmth that he was eager to share. He’d been cold for so long, he had forgotten what warmth felt like.

But a human couldn’t spend so much time here without some mark being made. Yuto knew this, had seen proof of it with the curse Yugo had become afflicted with. Because for all the gripe the human caused him, Yuto found himself caring for him, and did not want him to linger here, when he belonged in the world of the living. Despite this, he couldn’t bring himself to chase him off.

Couldn’t bring himself to watch him leave.

“Yutooooo,” Yugo whines, swinging left and right in impatience. For some reason, he hadn’t broken their handhold yet. “Give me _something_ to work with here!”

Yuto sighs. “Even if you tell me that, I really don’t…”

“I can tell you’re lying, you know.”

He freezes. Yugo doesn’t look any different, an unimpressed look on his face and head lolled to the right.

“You’re holding back and not telling me something, which means you’re probably worrying about it. And if you’re worrying, then I can help you! So, tell me.” The words are punctuated with a tug of his arm. They don’t stop with one though. “Tell me! Tell me!”

“Okay okay! Just stop that!”

Yugo stops with a satisfied smile and Yuto almost groans, leaned over from the incessant tugging on his arm.

Straightening up, he looks up to the roof of flowers above them. No light shone through on this cloudy day, but it didn’t feel dour.

“Then, if you’re insisting that much…” he trails off, finding it hard to continue. Yugo only nods encouragingly, holding onto Yuto’s hand with both of his.

Fire along his hair flickering, Yuto opens his mouth. “Could you… keep visiting me? I feel… warmer with you here. It’s a little lighter with your company.”

Yugo’s eyes widen, mouth parting to a small ‘o’. It’s a challenge to keep looking at him, but Yuto persists, trying to look calmer than he actually felt.

Then Yugo smiles, not as wide as usual, but no less bright. There’s a dusting of red on his cheeks again, this time spread all the way to the tips of his ears, and Yuto doesn’t know why he finds it’s oddly captivating.

“Of course! Even after my curse is gone, I’ll keep coming back! I promise!”

Promise. What a nice word, so often the source of misery and bitterness in all the tales surrounding this estate. And yet, Yuto couldn’t help but find unbelievable warmth in it.

“Promise,” he repeats, as they start to once again walk through the gardens towards the mansion.

“Next time I come over, I’ll bring some food for you to try! And maybe some lights, since it’s so damn dark in there, and a battery obviously… Oh! I bet we can build a _really_ cool forth with all the stuff in the mansion!”

Yuto tilts his head. “A fort?”

The look Yugo gives him could almost be called appalled. “You- Have you never made a pillow fort before? A blanket fort??”

The quizzical look on Yuto’s face must be answer enough as Yugo looks almost heartbroken, before quickly shifting to steely determination. “That’s it, we are _so_ making a fort next time. I’m gonna raid all the rooms for pillows and bedding and find the perfect spot!”

“Just don’t go into the White Lady’s room, or you might not get out again.”

He can see the shiver run up Yugo’s back and has to hold back a chuckle.

“Uh, okay, Yuto, you know the place better than I do, you’ll stay with me, right?”

“Of course.” He grasps the hand in his just a little tighter, before whispering quietly to himself so Yugo can’t hear. “I always will, for as long as I can.”

* * *


End file.
